


Nothing Shines Quite as Bright as You

by EarthToQuinne



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Coming Out, Cute boys in love, First Love, Fluff, Fourth of July, High School, High School AU, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 20:27:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17732093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EarthToQuinne/pseuds/EarthToQuinne
Summary: Alex and Jack have been secretly dating for over six months and antics ensue when they get a little too caught up in the moment...





	Nothing Shines Quite as Bright as You

Jack's hand managed to attach itself to Alex's under the safety of the picnic table.

He didn't mean to, he really didn't.

Alex had warned him to keep the PDA on the down-low, but it's like his hands had minds of their own. His fingers twined themselves with Alex's, his digits brushing themselves lightly over the boy's knuckles, his palm resting comfortably with his boyfriend's- it was all out of habit, really. He was so used to holding Alex's hand it had become almost a routine, his body working on autopilot. It didn't matter if he was trying to play guitar or do his math homework or shovel potato salad into his mouth- Jack wanted to keep him close, to have that simple little contact.

He didn't try to be so clingy, but when he was with Alex it just felt right and he didn't want it to end, didn't want him to leave. In that innocent little gesture, Jack claimed Alex as his and reminded him that he was there. However, such a simple touch spoke volumes and that was exactly what they were both afraid of.

Alex slowly grabbed Jack's hand under the table but gave him a warning look, that told the dark haired boy that yes, he was giving in but it was only this one time and he did not agree with it one bit- but that he also couldn't help himself because he loved Jack far too much to deny him the simplest of pleasures, even though they were very much in public. 

They had been steadily dating for a good six months, a half a year that had left them both shaking and breathless, thirsty for more. The future was bright in front of them, their love as sure and as beautiful as the fading light in the summer sky above them. But there was a catch, as there always was.

Jack watched Alex eat, his own plate completely forgotten on the table, chicken growing cold and attracting bugs. Jack fought the urge to reach over and gently wipe the mustard from the corner of Alex’s mouth with his sleeve. Every small gesture had to scrutinized and calculated carefully and frankly, it was exhausting. God, he wished that things were different. That they both weren't so afraid of what everyone would think. Jack wished that they had as much courage as they did love for each other, than it would be easier.

But he was a coward and he was afraid of losing Alex above anything. So he sat in agitated silence and tried to be content with holding his boyfriend's hand in secret. For most of the night, he’d been trying to focus on the peace he gained from Alex’s presence and the light, easy-going atmosphere of the party in full swing around them. However, he couldn’t stop thinking about the deliberate space he and Alex placed between themselves whenever they felt like someone was watching. 

For most of the night, Jack kept trying to convince himself, as he had many times before, how lucky he was. He had a home, a family who loved him, a group of friends who cared about him. But there was that nagging thought in the back of his mind, that said, _"Yeah, until they find out."_

The realization that he could easily lose everything if anyone found out the truth was an ever present one. Although, he was constantly fluctuating between joy and grief, between shame and pride, Jack knew that what they were doing was necessary. Although hiding hurt, it kept them both safe, and more importantly, it kept them both together. There was no telling how their parents would react if they found out, Alex was always reminding him. It was better to just wait it out, hoping that things would get better and finding refuge in each other in the mean time.

So Jack forced himself to swallow his worries as they finished dinner. Alex cleaned up Jack’s plate without request and got up to throw their trash away. Jack watched him as went, how he tugged gently down the t-shirt that had risen up when he was sitting, land left a small section of his back showing. He loved how his hips swayed as he walked, his long legs outlined perfectly in his jeans. Damn, was he beauti-

"Hey, Jack-O!" David practically shouted as he clamped down a hand on Jack's shoulder.

Jack mumbled a greeting but paid little attention to his older brother as he watched Alex lean down and start talking to one of Jack's cousins. He was immediately pulled into a game of tag by the little girl who Alex totally let win every time. They chased each other back and forth around the yard, dodging tables, people, and the occasional dog and toddler, their giggles loud and clear. Alex's laugh made Jack's heart feel fuzzy, his dimples displayed, perfectly surrounding his pure, childlike grin. Alex had always been so good with kids. Probably because he acted like one, 98% of the time, Jack thought fondly. He felt a wave of love and the adoration wash over him, as it did quite often and he sighed contently, completely unaware that his brother was trying to get his attention.

"Jack? Jack?"

"Wha-?"

"What the hell you looking at, Bro?" David asked, laughing at his obliviousness.

"Oh... uh, nothing," he mumbled quickly, the blush burning itself onto his face like a brand.

"So, June tells me that you're still single? At the ripe age of 16? Such a shame, I had like... two girlfriends when I was your age," David boasted. Jack just scoffed and ignored his remark. After all , spewing bullshit came as natural as breathing to his brother.

"I don't need one girlfriend, let alone _two,_ David. Plus, you really shouldn't be bragging about being a two-timer especially since it ended in Dad's car getting keyed and the house almost getting set on fire," Jack snapped, his eyes still following Alex.

David just laughed his stupid, arrogant laugh. “You can't stay single forever, you know. Maybe you're still going through that, 'Girls have cooties' phase? You did hit puberty pretty late-"

"Oh shut up!"

"But I haven't seen you in months, Jack-O! And why wouldn't I brag? I had a good fucking time back then!"

Jack rolled his eyes. David was in college now, and had thankfully taken his knack for turning girls into trainwrecks and drunken debacles that usually ended in something starting on fire, with him. The whole neighborhood sighed in relief the day David Barakat moved to New York. But sadly, Jack was still related to the guy, and although he loved him, that love was just buried- deep, deep, _deep_ down inside of him. Somewhere...

"I'm honestly really surprised that you don't have a girlfriend by now," David stated, actually sounding genuinely concerned. "You do have the Barakat charm and all. Even though I did get most of it," he paused, smirking like the idiot he was, earning a glare from Jack. "Maybe you just need a little guidance," he finished and grinned slyly. Jack just flicked him off.

"I don't need any guidance. I don't want-"

"Please don't tell me that you don't want a girlfriend. What man in their right mind wouldn't want a girlfriend, or a fuck buddy at the very least?" David asked, incredulously, his eyes wide in disbelief. Jack just scoffed. And then the older boy seemed to realize something because after a moment of silence he said, "Unless you're like... _gay_ or something.” Jack couldn't bring himself to smile or laugh because he was still straight to his brother, to everyone, and it just felt so incredibly wrong. Thankfully, David was too drunk and clueless to pick up on why Jack was so tensed So after he tormented his younger brother a little bit more and received no response, David left to go flirt with one of the neighbor girls- one of the few whom he hadn't had some sort of fling with in the past. Knowing his brother, though, Jack knew that they most definitely would in the near distant feature.

Jack slumped down onto the table and rested his head on his arm. He was busy making circles in the condensation on the wood from his soda can when Alex popped up behind him and poked him lightly in the back.

"Hey, you miss me?" he asked, in the adorable way that he always did, sliding onto the bench next to Jack. His playful tone quickly shifted to a worried one as he saw Jack's face, all scrunched up and sad looking.

"What happened?"

"David was just..." Jack trailed off, letting Alex fill in the blanks. Neither of them needed to say anything because they both knew that, no matter what it was, David had fucked something up in one way or another. If there was one thing David Barakat was good at, it was being a raging prick.

"Say no more, Babe," he replied, and bumped his knee into Jack's.

"So did you have a good time ditching me?" Jack teased, straightening himself up to look at Alex.

"Oh yeah, I met this really hot chick, but I have a feeling that I'm not her type."

"Alex, Anna is four. Don't pretend like you have a chance with girls, anyways," Jack chided.

"Damn, you see right through me," he joked back, smiling. Those fucking dimples practically gave Jack a heart attack.

"It's really cute how you are with kids. They like... automatically love you and all you have to do is stand there a look pretty. Kids hate me. I smile at them and they cry."

"Kids do not hate you! It just takes them awhile to get used to the eyebrows, is all," Alex teased, bumping his knee against his boyfriend's again, the small gesture sent a jolt through Jack.

"It's not fair, Alex. Kids love you, parents love you-"

 _"You_ love me," he interrupted, leaning slightly into Jack, but only slightly.

"I do, so fucking much," he admitted as he met Alex’s gaze, his eyes swimming with love and wanting. It was one of those moments that if they were alone, someone would be thrown up against a wall in two seconds flat. But it was the 4th of July and their parents were throwing a party so they had to keep their antisocial asses outside until the adults got too drunk to care.

It drove Jack absolutely crazy when the love in Alex's eyes became dusted with lust the way that it did just then. He quirked up an eyebrow and Alex replied with a small smile. A small, sexy little smirk that killed Jack in every single way.

Fucking hell, he did not give a shit about fireworks, he wanted to get Alex in his fucking bed as soon as possible. But of course this exchange was ruined when June, who was already drunk off her ass from boxed wine, popped a confetti popper over both of their heads- right next to Jack's ear. Jack spun around and glared at his sister, who held up her glass and grinned evilly. Or as evilly as a drunk woman can manage, anyway.

"Oh, lighten up, Jack!" she slurred as she stumbled off in the other direction.

"Holy fuck, my family is going to drive me insane," Jack spat, collapsing onto the table again.

"Um, Jack, I don't know if you've noticed this but my dad is standing on a table shirtless, dancing to Johnny Cash. I think you have it pretty fucking easy," Alex mused, grinning lazily at his father who was so drunk, he couldn't even even remember the words to the song that was playing so he was just shouted incoherent things as the men laughed and threw dollar bills at him.

And it was only 8.

Jack looked up just as Mr. Gaskarth slipped and fell off the table, and hit his stomach on the bench. He proceed to get up and continue dancing, though it could've been classified more as offbeat jerking than dancing, seeming completely unaware as to what had just happened.

"Alex," Jack said, looking into those brown eyes, "it's going to be a long night."

Alex just smiled and ruffled his boyfriend’s hair affectionately. "Come on, let's go get the sparklers."

Since the adults were too busy drinking cheap alcohol and egging on Mr. Gaskarth’s antics, Alex took it upon himself to hand out the fireworks to the kids. Manned with a cigarette lighter he swiped from his mom, six boxes of sparklers, and his kind smile, Alex became the best friend to every child at the party. After handing out and lighting, fifteen sparklers, Alex lit his own and wrote words in the air with the end of the sparkler as Jack watched him. The warm, golden, glow of the fire lit up his boy's face, and made his brown eyes shine brilliantly.

"The thing that I like about sparklers is that you can write words with fire and smoke and they're there for a few short seconds and then they're gone. Like I could be writing a poem or just the word 'cunt' over and over and over and you would never know because my words barely got to see the light of day. Sort of like our thoughts, in a way. We think them, sometimes even put them out into the world but before we know it, they're gone and they've lost importance," Alex rambled as his eyes followed his sparkler and he painted with smoke in the air.

"Damn, Lex, you're getting deep on me, here," Jack teased and bumped his boyfriend's sweatshirt covered arm.

"I'd rather you be deep _in_ me, Babe," he replied with a sexy smirk, which caused Jack to blush furiously. 

"Dammit, Alex, there are children around!" Jack scolded.

"Whoops," Alex said innocently. As he said it, he popped the 'p' and made Jack want to kiss him senseless, even more so than before.

"You are so not being fair, you know," Jack rasped, not even trying to hide his lust.

"I know," Alex replied cheerily, smiling his stupid, shit-eating grin.

"Maybe we could, um, sneak inside, for a little while?" Jack asked hopefully, "Before it gets dark and they start the fireworks?" Alex started to grin but it faltered slightly as he spoke.

"But... don't you think someone will notice? That we're both gone at the same time and be suspicious?"

"Lex," Jack said softly, "they won't even notice that we're gone. I know they won't."

"Are you... sure?"

"I am," Jack said, smiling and biting his lip at the little grin he received from Alex in return. They both made their way to the house then, sliding in through the side door easily, without being noticed- or at least they thought so. As soon as they were alone, Jack grabbed Alex's hand again and they practically fell up the stairs with how quickly they were moving.

When they reached Jack's bedroom, Alex was on him and is lips collided with Jack's in a rush of hungry feeling and desire. Jack kissed him back, wildly. His hands went straight to Alex's hips as he kissed him, and he snuck one up slowly underneath the folds of the fabric, his fingers grazing across the boy's skin. Jack slipped his tongue into Alex's mouth as Alex quickly slammed the door closed, just in time for Jack to press him up against it. The dark haired boy swirled his tongue around, running it over the boy's front teeth, and then made his way back around and caused Alex moan. Jack stopped playing with the hem of the shirt by then and had one hand cupping Alex's hip and the other fumbling to lock the door.

Jack slipped his tongue out to lick Alex's bottom lip and grinned when he felt the boy shiver against him. He stuck his hand further up Alex's shirt and felt his curves and muscles, his lumps, his flaws, his beautiful fucking body.

Alex bit Jack's lip, then took his turn by sticking his own tongue in Jack's mouth. Alex quickly took control, pushing Jack's tongue aside and working his way around, all as Jack slowly traced the muscles on his stomach, his fingers sweetly and seductively finding their way to Alex's back where they met in the small of it and held him there. At the small loving gesture, Alex kissed Jack full on the lips again, but this time slowly, lovingly. Jack's hands felt so warm on his bare skin, the pads of his fingertips rubbing small circles there. Jack traced the curve of Alex's back delicately, wanting his boy to know that he was being memorized, slowly but surely. That Jack was trying to map out every inch of Alex's body in his mind, using his fingers like the needles on a compass.

Jack pulled away from the kiss, his breathing heavy as he met Alex's eyes. His pupils were dilated and his breathing was more ragged than Jack's. Jack leaned back in and kissed Alex's chin, then made soft, passionate kisses all the way down the curve of his jaw and his neck. He kissed in trails, up and down, and only stayed in one spot when it caused Alex to moan softly. Jack started slow at first, but then picked up his pace, going faster, harder. Nipping at Alex's skin, using his tongue to make trails across the boy's neck, which caused goosebumps to rise up.

Alex continued to moan as Jack pressed him up against the door, Jack's leg working it's way between his own, and moving upwards slightly, making Alex's eyes widen and his moans become more frequent. Jack moved in more, delivering another load of delicious friction to Alex's dick. He pulled his lips from Alex's skin, stopping all movement for a second, letting Alex utter one disappointed wimper before he moved his tongue up and around the top of Alex's ear. Alex gasped as Jack stuck his tongue in his ear and swirled it around, moaning low in his throat as the wet of Jack's tongue worked wonders on that odd, sensitive spot.

Jack moved down to suck on the boy's ear lobe as he rocked his leg gently into Alex again, which made the boy go absolutely crazy. Alex was a hot, squirming mess underneath Jack, his hands as restless as the rest of him. He clawed at Jack's back as he slowly drove Alex insane and ran his nails, slowly and roughly down his spine. The, he splaying his fingers at the waistband of Jack's shorts and slipped them under the fabric of Jack's boxers to cup his bare ass.

Jack moaned at that and slumped into Alex's shoulder as he got as worked up as his boyfriend. Jack didn't expect Alex to take control like that. Sure, it was unusual for him, but he wasn't complaining; it just added more fuel to his fire. Jack slid his palm flat down Alex's stomach, over his partial abs and his belly button, over the waist of his jeans, and right down to the bulge in them, he grabbed him sharply and squeezed down ever so slightly.

"Oh my fucking-" Alex moaned, his head craned upwards, which caused it to gently hit the door as the waves of feeling hit him at full force.

Jack continued to hold him and squeeze his dick as he kissed his way down Alex's collarbone, moving the t-shirt aside with his free hand and then sucked down on the skin, totally intending to give Alex a hickey just below his shirt line. Alex panted as his moaning got louder and sounded more and more like Jack's name as they went on. Whenever Alex started to get quiet, Jack would thrust his hand up, making the boy go insane.

Once he was sure that he had left a nice little mark on his boy, Jack gently pulled away from Alex, who looked so sexy and drawn out, and tugged on his wrist, leading him over to the bed. Jack kissed him softly before he pushed him down onto the pillows, then straddled him once he got comfortable.

Jack just sat there, Alex's arousal poking him in a nice way, as he looked at the boy that he loved, so desperate and full of lust as he wriggled underneath Jack, trying to get him to move, to do something, anything. Alex was so turned on that it fucking hurt and here Jack was, just sitting there staring at him.

"Lex."

"Y-Yeah?"

"What do you want me to do?" Jack asked softly.

"Just... anything. As long as you... touch me.. all over," Alex whimpered.

"Holy fuck, if only you knew how sexy you look right now, Babe," Jack said in awe as he slowly slid off of Alex, kneeling next to him and undoing the button on his jeans. He did it quickly, clumsily, as if he were far too eager to calm himself down, and that made Alex get a new kind of butterflies he was all too familiar with.

As soon as it was undone and the zipper was down, Alex sat up and hastily pulled them off, so he was only in his boxers. Alex had just laid back when Jack said, "Shirt, too," wearing a smirk that said, "I love you so get fucking naked."

Alex sat up again, quickly pulled off his shirt, then tossed it to the side of the bed. Jack sat back with a smirk and let his eyes travel up and down the beautiful boy he had the privilege of calling his. Jack's eyes flicked up and down multiple times before they met with Alex's, who blushed furiously.

"Lex, you are so fucking beautiful," Jack breathed, his voice full of awe.

"I only believe you because you still say that to me even when I'm not getting naked for you," Alex confessed, his pink cheeks decorated with a small smile.

"God damn, I love you so fucking much," Jack said and leaned into another kiss.

"And I love you right back," Alex said sincerely as Jack pulled off his own t-shirt and undid the button on his own pants, slipping them off easily.

Their clothes were all in a heap on the floor, long forgotten.

Jack then sat himself up and went down to kiss Alex again. This time, he made it slow and slipped his tongue in for good measure. Then, Jack kissed his way down and left a trail of kisses from Alex's chin, down his stomach, and to the elastic of his underwear where Jack stopped briefly to look up at Alex. Then, when he had eye contact, slowly ran his tongue over him, which made him whimper.

"J-Jack please."

So Jack went up to kiss him, trailing his hand up Alex's thigh and grazing over his dick. Then Jack pulled down the boy's boxers and made Alex fall apart in his hands. Hands that knew him so well. Hands that teased him, guided him, held him. Hands that could make him feel like magic, sparks exploding in his gut.

Hands that held him together and fall apart in the best ways.

At the party below, June had noticed the pair sneak into the house, even in her drunken stupor, with a pretty good idea what their intentions were. Which she then mentioned to her mother, who mentioned it to her husband, who mentioned it to David, who casually brought it up to Mrs. Gaskarth, who told absolutely fucking no one because her husband was hammered and beyond rescue. The five of them sat at a picnic table, chattering endlessly as they for the boys to come down. The boys were completely unaware that their worst fear was becoming a reality as they made each other feel so incredibly perfect and absolutely invincible.

Alex left more claw marks on Jack's back as they went on and Jack was sucking love bites onto his lover's skin, as he gently moved his hips back and forth in a steady rhythm. Alex was moaning so loudly Jack was sure that the people in the yard would hear and come up to see if anyone had died, break down the door, only to find two teenagers fucking on the bed.

But that did not happen, and the minutes wore on as they both slowly arrived at their climaxes. Surprisingly, Jack broke first, and turned into a shaking and moaning mess, a landslide quaking and falling into the boy whom he loved so dearly. As Jack slowed down, his hips still moving in slow, sexy circles, reveling in the after shocks, Alex was slowly nearing the edge. Jack moved his hips a little more then grabbed onto Alex's dick, making his hands say what he couldn't, moving soft and passionate and slow. He brushed aside the strands of brown hair from Alex's face as he climaxed. His beautiful features containing that to-die-for look of absolute pleasure that made Jack want it fuck him into the mattress all over again.

He rested his hand on his boyfriend's cheek, stroking it lightly with his thumb. Then he rolled off Alex and rested his head on his chest. Jack heard his heart thumping away so fucking fast it practically made him blush, because he knew that was his fault. Alex played with his hair as Jack rested on him, both of them feeling content and happy with absolutely everything.

Sure, their lives weren't perfect and their whole relationship was being kept a secret from their families, but that wasn't so bad. They were together and happy and had just had fucking sex in Jack's bed, for the fourth time that week, and nothing could take them away from each other in those moments. Because they were happy and as alive as they had ever felt before. It was almost like something out of a painting or a romance novel. And because the moment was so beautiful, Jack just knew that it wasn’t bound to last. As they came down from their high, they found their families sitting at one table, eyes all locked on the door they were coming out of.

"Oh fuck, Jack, I think they noticed," Alex mumbled nervously as his hands twisted themselves into knots in from of him.

"No, they did no-"

"Ohh boys, come over here please!" June called in her sickeningly sweet voice that she used only when she was trying to get Jack in trouble.

"Aw, fuck me," Alex mumbled.

And despite their terror, Jack managed to whisper back, "I just did," which them both laugh a little becaue they were actually children.

"Care to tell us what you've been doing for the past hour?" Mrs. Barakat asked, her usually light, happy tone, stern, as she looked at the boys that she both considered to be her sons.

"We were uh... playing video games," Jack managed to stutter out though he didn't even fool himself for a second.

"Hmm, interesting," June added. "How'd you get that bruise than, Alex? Did Jack get mad at you or... something? And if so, is that why your hair's all messy and your eyes look all wild?" She said the last word seductively, batting her eyelashes jokingly.

"Oh I um, burned myself with the straightener," Alex muttered, trying to put on a poker face. "And we ugh... were moving boxes. Yup. That."

"Boys, is there something that you want to tell us?" Mr. Barakat boomed, his deep voice practically shook the table, and scared the absolute shit out of the boys. 

"No," they both managed to squeak at the same time, the lies becoming all too evident just then. Jack felt like his world was crashing down, like everything was ruined, like there was no-

"Come on guys, just stop scaring them," Mrs. Gaskarth scolded, giving the boys looks of sympathy as they looked back at her in confusion.

"But it was hilarious!" David exclaimed, "You have to admit that. Now June, pay up, you losing bitch." David held out his hand as June glared at him.

"Wait wha-" Jack started.

"We had a bet running how long it would take you two to finally crack," David boasted.

"Hey, they didn't actually say it themselves, David, so it doesn't even count," June countered as the boys continued to stare in confusion.

"We know, boys," Mrs. Gaskarth said with a smile.

"But how do you-" Jack started again only to be interrupted.

"Maybe the next time you have sex in my house, Jack Barakat, you'll make sure that your boyfriend actually leaves with his underwear next time?" Mr. Barakat said and grinned widely as the rest of the table erupted in laughter. Jack was as white as a sheet and Alex was tomato red, a beautiful contrast, really.

"Why didn't you just tell us right away, boys?" Mrs. Gaskarth asked as she looked at the boys with that concerned, motherly look she always seemed to wear, even when she was with her husband- _especially_ with her husband.

"Well, we were afraid that you guys wouldn't um... that you wouldn't like us being... well, you know, gay and stuff," Alex said to the table top.

"And we were scared that we would be disowned and separated or something. It just... hurt too much to even think about," Jack confessed and his eyes traveled up to meet those of the parents as he spoke.

"We would never do that to you two. We've actually always thought that the pair of you went good together since you were little and you played house together. Remember how Alex was always the dad and you played the mom so you could dress up in June's dresses," Mrs. Barakat replied with a smile, which made Jack blush viciously and glare at his mother.

"I can't believe that you knew this whole time and never even said anything," Alex said in disbelief.

"Well we're saying it now, aren't we?" June replied, snarkily, as she smacked Joe's open palm out of her face.

"So that means that you guys are... well, _okay_ with everything?" Jack reassured because it felt like it was far too good to be true.

"We are. You don't have to worry about that. We all love you not matter what and support what makes you both happy," Mr. Barakat stated, as the rest of the family nodded, and then added, "But if I ever catch you two having sex in my house again, I will come up there and kick your naked asses out myself," he said, and made another menacing face that left Alex shaking. Frankly, Jack’s father scared the shit out of him. Sure, he could be friendly, but only if he wanted to, and he was big, standing far over 6 feet with tired brown eyes that looked a lot like Jack's, except more bloodshot from constant hours of sleep deprivation, a heavyset frown, and a hulking build.Alex was scared of him before he started dating his son.

"Can do, sir," Alex said, meeting the man's eyes. He expected to be greeted with a cold, hard stare but only received two warm brown eyes smiling happily back at him.

After that, everything was pretty normal. The adults went back to drinking, Alex went back to being far too perfect for his own good and Jack went back to stalking his boyfriend and hating his brother. But things were different now because the boys felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from their shoulders. After so many months of hiding, they were finally free, to love, to be open, to be themselves.

Alex couldn't contain his grin as he lit up smoke bombs for the cousins who were all taking turns running through the colorful haze. He had just handed out the last one when Mr. Barakat walked over to him, beer in hand and a warm smile on his face.

"I just wanted to say "Thank you" for taking care of my boy. I know that I give you shit about sex and all, but Diana and I were the same way when we were teenagers," He said and smiled fondly, as Alex puked in his mouth. "That's all just talk, though. I've never seen Jack smile more than when he's with you. Since you two... got together, he's grown so much, and he's become a better man and I can..." Mr. Barakat teared up a little and paused for a moment to collect himself. Alex wasn't quite sure if this was all genuine or if the alcohol played a part, but it was still touching, regardless.

"I can honestly say that it's because of you. Thank you for taking such good care of my boy, Alex. I know that you'll continue to do it, because if you don't, there'll be hell to pay," he said with a wink, and pulled Alex into a hug. "Welcome to the family, son."

-

Alex managed to find Jack minutes before the firework show started. Every year, the city put on a show at the park, which just so happened to be right across from Jack's house. At 10:00 exactly, everyone had moved their lawn chairs- and their beer- to the end of the Barakat's driveway, eyes glued to the sky as the first spot of color bled onto the powder blue backdrop.

Jack sat on a blanket in the grass, his thigh pressed up against Alex's, their hands entwined on the fabric between them. Alex watched the fireworks as they exploded in millions of shapes and colors. And Jack watched as his boy shook with every quake, with every boom of a canister shooting out the colors it held inside. His eyes were as wide as saucers, his mouth hung slightly open. His face glowed a rainbow of colors as the sky lent it's hues down for one night, the lights dancing crazily in Alex's eyes.

Alex was watching the sky, and Jack was watching him, for Alex was far more captivating than any light show Jack would ever see and now he was finally free to let the world know it.

**Author's Note:**

> One of the first real stories I've ever written. It's like over five years old and kind of tropey and terrible? But it still has a place in my heart because it’s based on my first relationship and that combination of joy and fear that comes with having to hide who you are and who you love. Hope you enjoy. <3


End file.
